Refrigerators and freezers typically have doors with storage shelves or compartments therein. The compartment may be a shelf with a pivotal door or may be formed with upright walls and an open top. Some refrigerator and freezer doors have a tilt-out bucket to provide easier access to the stored food item. Such buckets are typically accessible only in the tilt-out or open position, with the bucket opening being inaccessible when the bucket is moved to the storage position within the door. Such tilt-out buckets also have a problem with inadvertently tilting-out when not desired, particularly when the refrigerator or freezer door is opened quickly. Such unintentional pivoting of the bucket to the open position presents the potential for spillage of the food items from the bucket. Some tilt-out buckets include a lid or cover which can be opened only after the bucket has been pivoted to the tilt-out position. Such lids add an additional step to the process of removing a food item from the bucket, and may present difficulties in opening the lid by a user having both hands full.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out bucket for a refrigerator or freezer door.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a tilt-out door bucket for refrigerators and freezers which pivots 30°–45° to enhance access to food items contained in the bucket.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out bucket for refrigerator or freezer doors which is restrained against inadvertent pivotal movement from an upright position to a tilt-out position.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out door bucket for a refrigerator or freezer door having a positive stop element to limit the pivotal movement of the bucket.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a method of providing access to a refrigerator door bucket including the steps of opening the refrigerator or freezer door and tilting the bucket from an upright position wherein an opening of the bucket is upwardly disposed to a tilt-out position wherein the bucket opening is upwardly and forwardly disposed.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved tilt-out door bucket for refrigerator and freezers which is economical to manufacture and durable in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.